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Deaf student pursues apprenticeship as an electrician

Cole Laing, a Grade 12 student at Lacombe Composite High School in central Alberta, participated in the Registered Apprenticeship Program as an electrician. Laing, seen here in June 2013, is deaf, but worked with his employer to accommodate his needs.

When Cole Laing helped his dad wire the basement of his family's home four years ago, he knew he had found his future career.

Laing, 17, enjoyed the project so much he decided to get a head start on his trade and entered Alberta's Registered Apprenticeship Program as an electrician in Grade 11.

Laing, who was born deaf, approached the program just like his peers, remembers Marilyn Maloney, the off-campus co-ordinator at Laing's school in Lacombe, Alta, He chose his trade and secured employment off-campus with a journeyman.

"Cole was pretty typical. He came and expressed an interest in getting involved in the RAP program, and generally we say to students if you can, you should find your own placement. He did that just like everybody else," Maloney said.

Laing attended high-school classes in the morning and worked during the afternoons for True Power Electric.

"I was nervous about working in the trades because I was deaf," Laing wrote in an email. "But when I applied and talked to my employer about what my needs were, I felt better. They were very accommodating about it."

Laing received cochlear implants when he was four years old. He attends regular classes at high school and speaks himself rather than signing, but he uses an interpreter in school, said Cole's mom, Leah.

"School is different than work, because at work I can speak one on one with my crew. I can read lips quite well also," Cole Laing wrote.

He made certain his employer understood his needs before applying for the job, and said once he started working, he asked for lots of clarification along the way.

"They talked about it beforehand, what Cole needed and what the employer needed," said Leah Laing. "He worked throughout the school year and throughout the summer and really enjoyed it."

The teen noted his co-workers had to adjust to walking closer to him before speaking, rather than just yelling across a work site.

Sometimes co-workers forgot he was deaf, which he said could be frustrating.

Overall, Laing describes RAP as a "great program" that helped him get a head start on his career. He plans to continue in the trade and has registered for classes at Red Deer College.

Cole Laing, a Grade 12 student at Lacombe Composite High School in central Alberta, participated in the Registered Apprenticeship Program as an electrician. Laing, seen here in June 2013, is deaf, but worked with his employer to accommodate his needs.